COVID-19 has laid bare how much we value women's work, and how little we pay for it

EXCERPTS

The COVID-19 pandemic has turned our lives upside down. Amidst the upheavals, it has laid bare how little we normally pay for “women’s work”.

Australia has very low gender equality when it comes to remuneration, ranking 49th on the World Economic Forum Gender Participation and Opportunity Index 2020 that measures workforce participation, remuneration and advancement.

Partly this is because paid women’s work is more concentrated in the caring and service industries than men’s work, and is more likely to be low paid, casual and part-time.